Reservist receives academy airmanship award

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SAN ANTONIO (AFPN) --  U.S. Air Force Academy officials named an Air Force Reserve Command pilot the winner of the 2005 Colonel James Jabara Award for Airmanship for his contributions to air power during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Lt. Col. Keith Schultz, a 1979 academy graduate, is the operations group deputy commander for the 917th Wing at Barksdale Air Force Base, La.

The Jabara award, named in honor of Col. James Jabara, America's first jet ace, is given annually to an Air Force Academy graduate whose actions directly associated with an aerospace vehicle set him or her apart from contemporaries.

Colonel Schultz demonstrated heroism and sustained superior performance as an instructor pilot, test evaluator, mission commander and aircraft commander of a B-52 Stratofortress, officials said. He conceived, tested, developed and validated a new weapon system in actual combat operations, officials said.

By his initiative, determination and personal involvement he validated the process of mounting a Litening II pod on the wing of a B-52 in four months. A similar process typically takes two years to complete, officials said.

LITENING is a precision targeting pod system that significantly increases aircraft combat effectiveness during day, night and under-the-weather conditions in the attack of ground targets with a variety of standoff weapons such as laser-guided bombs.

With this new capability, the crew can estimate in real time the nature of the target, identify friendly or collateral damage concerns, and decline a target as not fit for an air strike, officials said.

Colonel Schultz used that capability in combat April 11, 2003, as the aircraft commander on a mission in northern Iraq.

The crew flew over areas defended by surface-to-air missiles, verified target locations and evaluated collateral damage concerns.

Colonel Schultz released a laser-guided bomb on a command center with dead-on accuracy, officials said. He executed two more attacks in the target area destroying a communications complex and denying the enemy's ability to control combat operations. This marked the first B-52 release and self-designation of a laser-guided weapon, officials said.

During Operation Iraqi Freedom, Colonel Schultz flew 200 hours in combat and dropped 275,000 pounds of munitions.